I chose this book because it had a deep meaning to it, and the main character was of Indian descent, something I can relate to, it was practically a shoo-in for me. It was also recommended to me by a friend.
The genre- Life of Pi, by Yann Martel fits into several genres, or if it were to be better explained a different genre depending on the perspective of the reader. For example, if you focus on the symbolism in the novel, you could say it is an allegory, which is a message, communicated through symbolic figures, actions, or symbolic representation. For example, Martel uses the tiger itself as a symbol of survival, due to the fact that it gave him courage. He states in the novel that if the tiger can survive, he can survive. However if you look on what happens in the story, you could say it is survival fiction due to the fact that the novel is about a person who is stranded in the middle of the ocean with only a lifeboat that has an adult Bengal tiger on it. Also there is barely any food on the boat so conserving food is a difficult prospect. If you look at it from a rather broad perspective, you could say Life of Pi is modern fiction, because it is a story set in modern times (it was written in 2001) For example, it is a fictional story, but unlike most, it is set in modern times and that is clearly seen by the presence of technology (computers, gasoline engines, etc.), other books in this category are The curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon and The Da Vinci Code, By Dan Brown. It can also be viewed as an ironic novel, due to the fact that there is technically food and water surrounding the boat. However, the ocean water is undrinkable because of the salt, and the fish are nearly impossible to catch.
In conclusion, Life of Pi can be used for any genre due to its many themes and its diversity. A brief summary Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, is composed of three parts. To begin with, Part 1 describes Pi’s childhood in Pondicherry, India and experiences at school, and how his father put the fear of wild animals into him by showing him what they can do if he is not careful. He practiced Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam, for he is very religious. However, years later, martial law is initiated in India, so Pi’s family sells their animals (they own a zoo), and sets off on a cargo ship to Canada. This is the beginning of part 2. In this, Pi is most likely in about in his early 20s. All of part 2 takes place at sea, but with only two of the characters from part 1, Pi, and the tiger, Richard Parker. Along with a hyena, this is eventually eaten by RP (Richard Parker). RP and Pi end up working out an uneasy living style, and Pi slowly trains RP until Pi is master of the lifeboat. At the end of part 2, RP saves Pi’s life. Part 3 is not long at all. 2 civil servants for the Japanese maritime department try to shed some light on Pi’s story. Pi alters the story to change the animals to human beings, who tore each other apart
Major charachters
Pi Patel- Piscine Molitor Patel is the protagonist in the novel and for most of the novel, the narrator. (1st person POV). In the novel, Pi is stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with a small provision of food, and a Bengal tiger. He is a shy, graying, middle-aged man who has an uncontrollable fear of wild animals. He is incredibly religious, as when he is stranded in the ocean, he faithfully prayed twice a day for the long time he was stranded. ( “As long as god is with me, I will not die”-Pi Patel ) Religion is what defines Pi Patel. He is a devout Christian, praying incessantly even while not stranded on a boat. This shows that he mainly relied on God for his survival. He is often very spiritual in his descriptions with what is going on around him, providing rich narratives with amazing detail, capturing every moment of his ordeal in his brain. However, in his narratives, he seems to endlessly exaggerate what is less than he thinks it is, which is why, towards the end of the novel, provide a more realistic description of what happened to him at sea with the tiger. Though his perspective jumps back and forth in time, the novel traces his mental growth in a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age kind of way. As a child, Pi was eager and outgoing, dependent on his family for protection and guidance. In school he wanted to learn about religion and zoology. However, when he is shipwrecked as a young adult, Pi is torn from his family forever and left alone on a lifeboat with wild animals.
Richard Parker ( the tiger ) - Pi’s companion in his ordeal at sea is Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Richard parker is portrayed as a wilder animal than he actually is. It can be difficult to accept that a person and a tiger can survive together on a boat alone, but it can be more feasible if, like Richard Parker, the tiger was bred in captivity and is used to the presence of humans, do not be fooled though, as Richard Parker is a fearsome beast. Ironically, the tiger is imperative to Pi’s survival. As Pi successes in taming Richard Parker, his confidence increases, so Richard parker gives Pi a spiritual desire to press on. Pi has more of a psychological mindset with the tiger, mainly with fear. ( “Fear is life’s only opponent” ) The tiger symbolizes Pi’s most animalistic instincts, while stranded, Richard Parker slowly made Pi (a devout vegetarian) eat the sea creatures to stay alive, as time progresses, Pi becomes more brutish about it, tearing apart birds and stuffing them in his mouth, the way Richard Parker does. Also, caring and providing for Richard Parker so he would not eat Pi alive, keeps Pi busy and passes time, without Richard parker, Pi might have given up on life for good.
Ravi- There is not much information about Ravi, Pi’s older brother, as he appears in very few parts in the novel. Unlike Pi, he prefers sports to schoolwork and endlessly teased his younger brother (Pi) about his multiple religions and his attachment to academics.
Themes and big ideas The idea of religion The idea of religion is very prevalent in Life of Pi, Yann Martel despite the fact that the protagonist, Pi Patel, believes in both science and religion. Here’s a protagonist that believes in zoology (science) and Muslim, Christian, and Hindu. Surely these religions will clash in Pi’s mind, arguing with each other, confusing Pi’s beliefs. However, Pi is so attached to the idea of Christianity, which involves accepting other’s beliefs, that he embraces all of his religions equally. It is as if all three religions find a common ground with each other and thrive together. The use of all the religions is mentioned in Life of Pi. In the beginning of his religious endeavors, Pi felt that it was “a deeply religious contract” later, he learns that it is not a contract, it is a mutual relationship.
Suffering Suffering brings out the best and worst in the characters. In times of suffering, it causes Pi to care for the dying orangutan that is on the boat and give it a peaceful passing. At other times it drives him to the point of murder. In one moment in the book, the vegetarian protagonist is forced to catch a fish to save his life. When the fish struggles, he is forced to subdue it by beating it with a hatchet. After the incident, he says, “I feel like I was beating a rainbow to death. However, Pi faces these sufferings with bravery and fortitude.
Major conflicts A major conflict in Life of Pi is the internal conflict of religion. Throughout his ordeal at sea, he questions religion, and that went against an accepted belief of society. The internal conflict is so terrible for him that at the end of the novel, we are led to believe that he crafted a new story to hide himself from what really happened. The author leaves us wondering if when he saw the hyena kill the zebra, was it actually the murder of one of his family members? A dose of internal conflict could have easily warped his mind into believing that it was a zebra, not his mother, father, or brother. Was Richard parker even a tiger, maybe he was a person, or maybe he was simply a figment of Pi’s imagination. The internal conflict within his mind makes it nigh on impossible to tell. Also, in one part of the book, Pi sees a ship and gets the lifeboat’s flare gin ready, but misses and the flare goes off into the sea. Could the ocean liner have been a figment of Pi’s imagination? Maybe it was all a hallucination, as Pi did sound quite delirious when he said “Richard Parker, we’re going to be saved! Ha Ha!” There are also multiple stories that Pi tells, all with a different outcome, so which one is the truth? Is it the one where the hyena ate Pi’s mother? Is it the one where he was saved by an ocean liner? At the end of the novel, the author leaves us wondering which story is the truth.
Symbolic image:
This image shows a game system and a textbook sitting together on a table. It represents the balance of religions in Pi’s mind. Just like you have to balance school and games, you have to balance your inner mind, be it religion, experiences, etc. Also, with both concepts, if you do not balance, the consequences are terrible. Pi’s internal balance was in turmoil and he witnessed hallucinations because it was so traumatic for him at sea. Same with games and work. If you work too much, then you will lose all your sense of fun. If you play too much, your work will decline. Same with Pi’s religion, if he focuses on one religion too much, then all the others will diminish.
Similar works
To begin with, Life of Pi , by Yann Martel is very similar to the novel, The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway because in the novel, the forces of nature hinder the protagonists, and they are both trapped at sea with other animals that can kill them. It is similar in the allegory genre. There is a widespread use of symbolism in both of the books. Another work that is similar to Life of Pi is the Island series by Gordon Korman. This series falls under the survival fiction category of Life of Pi. Both the books involve surviving against the forces of nature, with storms, predators, and starvation with barely any food and dangerous predators breathing down the protagonist’s neck constantly while they struggle to survive. Another work similar is the novel The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon because in both the novels, the protagonists have to step far outside of their comfort zone to brave what lies ahead. Also, they both discover their inner selves, what they are really like, if they have to function on their own. Of course, Life of Pi is different from The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night-Time because Life of Pi takes place at sea and Haddon’s book takes place in a city. However, the similarity of these books lies not with the setting of them, but with the underlying themes, such as functioning without someone’s help and experiencing the real world, natural or artificial.
New vocabulary
In situ-in the original or natural place or site
Purveyor-someone who supplies provisions (usually food)
Indolence-inactivity resulting from laziness
Elicted-called forth from a latent or potential state by stimulation
Unremitting-uninteruppted.
Life of Pi, By Yann Martel.
I chose this book because it had a deep meaning to it, and the main character was of Indian descent, something I can relate to, it was practically a shoo-in for me. It was also recommended to me by a friend.The genre-
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel fits into several genres, or if it were to be better explained a different genre depending on the perspective of the reader. For example, if you focus on the symbolism in the novel, you could say it is an allegory, which is a message, communicated through symbolic figures, actions, or symbolic representation. For example, Martel uses the tiger itself as a symbol of survival, due to the fact that it gave him courage. He states in the novel that if the tiger can survive, he can survive. However if you look on what happens in the story, you could say it is survival fiction due to the fact that the novel is about a person who is stranded in the middle of the ocean with only a lifeboat that has an adult Bengal tiger on it. Also there is barely any food on the boat so conserving food is a difficult prospect. If you look at it from a rather broad perspective, you could say Life of Pi is modern fiction, because it is a story set in modern times (it was written in 2001) For example, it is a fictional story, but unlike most, it is set in modern times and that is clearly seen by the presence of technology (computers, gasoline engines, etc.), other books in this category are The curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon and The Da Vinci Code, By Dan Brown. It can also be viewed as an ironic novel, due to the fact that there is technically food and water surrounding the boat. However, the ocean water is undrinkable because of the salt, and the fish are nearly impossible to catch.
In conclusion, Life of Pi can be used for any genre due to its many themes and its diversity.
A brief summary
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, is composed of three parts. To begin with, Part 1 describes Pi’s childhood in Pondicherry, India and experiences at school, and how his father put the fear of wild animals into him by showing him what they can do if he is not careful. He practiced Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam, for he is very religious. However, years later, martial law is initiated in India, so Pi’s family sells their animals (they own a zoo), and sets off on a cargo ship to Canada. This is the beginning of part 2. In this, Pi is most likely in about in his early 20s. All of part 2 takes place at sea, but with only two of the characters from part 1, Pi, and the tiger, Richard Parker. Along with a hyena, this is eventually eaten by RP (Richard Parker). RP and Pi end up working out an uneasy living style, and Pi slowly trains RP until Pi is master of the lifeboat. At the end of part 2, RP saves Pi’s life. Part 3 is not long at all. 2 civil servants for the Japanese maritime department try to shed some light on Pi’s story. Pi alters the story to change the animals to human beings, who tore each other apart
Major charachters
Pi Patel- Piscine Molitor Patel is the protagonist in the novel and for most of the novel, the narrator. (1st person POV). In the novel, Pi is stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with a small provision of food, and a Bengal tiger. He is a shy, graying, middle-aged man who has an uncontrollable fear of wild animals. He is incredibly religious, as when he is stranded in the ocean, he faithfully prayed twice a day for the long time he was stranded. ( “As long as god is with me, I will not die”-Pi Patel ) Religion is what defines Pi Patel. He is a devout Christian, praying incessantly even while not stranded on a boat. This shows that he mainly relied on God for his survival. He is often very spiritual in his descriptions with what is going on around him, providing rich narratives with amazing detail, capturing every moment of his ordeal in his brain. However, in his narratives, he seems to endlessly exaggerate what is less than he thinks it is, which is why, towards the end of the novel, provide a more realistic description of what happened to him at sea with the tiger. Though his perspective jumps back and forth in time, the novel traces his mental growth in a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age kind of way. As a child, Pi was eager and outgoing, dependent on his family for protection and guidance. In school he wanted to learn about religion and zoology. However, when he is shipwrecked as a young adult, Pi is torn from his family forever and left alone on a lifeboat with wild animals.
Richard Parker ( the tiger ) - Pi’s companion in his ordeal at sea is Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Richard parker is portrayed as a wilder animal than he actually is. It can be difficult to accept that a person and a tiger can survive together on a boat alone, but it can be more feasible if, like Richard Parker, the tiger was bred in captivity and is used to the presence of humans, do not be fooled though, as Richard Parker is a fearsome beast. Ironically, the tiger is imperative to Pi’s survival. As Pi successes in taming Richard Parker, his confidence increases, so Richard parker gives Pi a spiritual desire to press on. Pi has more of a psychological mindset with the tiger, mainly with fear. ( “Fear is life’s only opponent” ) The tiger symbolizes Pi’s most animalistic instincts, while stranded, Richard Parker slowly made Pi (a devout vegetarian) eat the sea creatures to stay alive, as time progresses, Pi becomes more brutish about it, tearing apart birds and stuffing them in his mouth, the way Richard Parker does. Also, caring and providing for Richard Parker so he would not eat Pi alive, keeps Pi busy and passes time, without Richard parker, Pi might have given up on life for good.
Ravi- There is not much information about Ravi, Pi’s older brother, as he appears in very few parts in the novel. Unlike Pi, he prefers sports to schoolwork and endlessly teased his younger brother (Pi) about his multiple religions and his attachment to academics.
Themes and big ideas
The idea of religion
The idea of religion is very prevalent in Life of Pi, Yann Martel despite the fact that the protagonist, Pi Patel, believes in both science and religion. Here’s a protagonist that believes in zoology (science) and Muslim, Christian, and Hindu. Surely these religions will clash in Pi’s mind, arguing with each other, confusing Pi’s beliefs. However, Pi is so attached to the idea of Christianity, which involves accepting other’s beliefs, that he embraces all of his religions equally. It is as if all three religions find a common ground with each other and thrive together. The use of all the religions is mentioned in Life of Pi. In the beginning of his religious endeavors, Pi felt that it was “a deeply religious contract” later, he learns that it is not a contract, it is a mutual relationship.
Suffering
Suffering brings out the best and worst in the characters. In times of suffering, it causes Pi to care for the dying orangutan that is on the boat and give it a peaceful passing. At other times it drives him to the point of murder. In one moment in the book, the vegetarian protagonist is forced to catch a fish to save his life. When the fish struggles, he is forced to subdue it by beating it with a hatchet. After the incident, he says, “I feel like I was beating a rainbow to death. However, Pi faces these sufferings with bravery and fortitude.
Major conflicts
A major conflict in Life of Pi is the internal conflict of religion. Throughout his ordeal at sea, he questions religion, and that went against an accepted belief of society. The internal conflict is so terrible for him that at the end of the novel, we are led to believe that he crafted a new story to hide himself from what really happened. The author leaves us wondering if when he saw the hyena kill the zebra, was it actually the murder of one of his family members? A dose of internal conflict could have easily warped his mind into believing that it was a zebra, not his mother, father, or brother. Was Richard parker even a tiger, maybe he was a person, or maybe he was simply a figment of Pi’s imagination. The internal conflict within his mind makes it nigh on impossible to tell. Also, in one part of the book, Pi sees a ship and gets the lifeboat’s flare gin ready, but misses and the flare goes off into the sea. Could the ocean liner have been a figment of Pi’s imagination? Maybe it was all a hallucination, as Pi did sound quite delirious when he said “Richard Parker, we’re going to be saved! Ha Ha!” There are also multiple stories that Pi tells, all with a different outcome, so which one is the truth? Is it the one where the hyena ate Pi’s mother? Is it the one where he was saved by an ocean liner? At the end of the novel, the author leaves us wondering which story is the truth.
Symbolic image:
This image shows a game system and a textbook sitting together on a table. It represents the balance of religions in Pi’s mind. Just like you have to balance school and games, you have to balance your inner mind, be it religion, experiences, etc. Also, with both concepts, if you do not balance, the consequences are terrible. Pi’s internal balance was in turmoil and he witnessed hallucinations because it was so traumatic for him at sea. Same with games and work. If you work too much, then you will lose all your sense of fun. If you play too much, your work will decline. Same with Pi’s religion, if he focuses on one religion too much, then all the others will diminish.
Similar works
To begin with, Life of Pi , by Yann Martel is very similar to the novel, The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway because in the novel, the forces of nature hinder the protagonists, and they are both trapped at sea with other animals that can kill them. It is similar in the allegory genre. There is a widespread use of symbolism in both of the books. Another work that is similar to Life of Pi is the Island series by Gordon Korman. This series falls under the survival fiction category of Life of Pi. Both the books involve surviving against the forces of nature, with storms, predators, and starvation with barely any food and dangerous predators breathing down the protagonist’s neck constantly while they struggle to survive. Another work similar is the novel The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon because in both the novels, the protagonists have to step far outside of their comfort zone to brave what lies ahead. Also, they both discover their inner selves, what they are really like, if they have to function on their own. Of course, Life of Pi is different from The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night-Time because Life of Pi takes place at sea and Haddon’s book takes place in a city. However, the similarity of these books lies not with the setting of them, but with the underlying themes, such as functioning without someone’s help and experiencing the real world, natural or artificial.
New vocabulary
In situ-in the original or natural place or site
Purveyor-someone who supplies provisions (usually food)
Indolence-inactivity resulting from laziness
Elicted-called forth from a latent or potential state by stimulation
Unremitting-uninteruppted.
link to goodreads review:
http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/11957847-krish